


that guy downstairs

by cecefi



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: First Meetings, Mute Guardian, Other, i mean not doing anything romantic yet but later 4 sure, short n cute idk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:08:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26075416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cecefi/pseuds/cecefi
Summary: lil something i wrote about my guardian, Frankie, meeting the drifter and the drifter being Himself
Relationships: The Drifter/Guardian (Destiny)
Kudos: 16





	that guy downstairs

The first time the Drifter met the new guardian hadn’t been too special at first. He had been sporting that freshly rezzed aura even more than most, must have wandered in on him on accident. As many do, everyone seemed to be consistent in warning new guardians not to visit the Drifter, but no one ever said where exactly he was so he could be avoided.  
“Well heya, new kid right?”

His usually disarming smile did nothing to the tall figure now frozen in his doorway, orange Awoken eyes locked on him like some sort of deer in the headlights. The novice warlock robes also gave him away as he finally untensed and stepped further into his room.

“Shy one aren’t ya, well don’t worry about none of that. Ol’ Drifter won’t bite.”

He fiddled with the jade gambit coin in his hands, tossing and flipping it from palm to palm. It helped him focus mostly, an innocent ritual that he’d had for many years. He even learned some tricks with it in his spare time, not that had anyone but his gambit participants to show them off to. 

The new kid was still studying him, eyes moving from him to the large swirling bank of darkness behind him. His ghost floating near his shoulder seemed to be nervous, leaning near him to whisper something. 

Drifter suppressed a frown. 

“Now now no need to be gossiping about me when I’m right in front of ya! I’m sure big blue or Ikora told you about me already. Always goin’ on about this and that about my business. But it’s better you hear it from the horse's mouth right?”

The guardian tilted his head to the side, ready to listen he could only guess.

“Okkkkk I’ll take that as a yes, see they call me the Drifter, you got skills and I got the cash, you dig? The Vanguard can be good to you, but I can be better.” 

Flipping his gambit coin expertly between his fingers he tried to get a better read on them. He was being attentive for sure, but goddamn it would be nice if he just said something.

“But hey-”

The Drifter gestured.

“Don’t feel any pressure from me alright? I can see you’re new, but you got that spark, you got time to learn the ropes. Could always use another warlock fighting on my side for a bit yeah? Come to me when you’re hungry for something more than just being a goody two shoes.”

More heavy silence from him and the Drifter paused his coin tricks. 

“Unless....” 

He took a step forward, suddenly aware of how much taller the guardian was than him, almost looming. 

“-you’re already craving something more…?”

The ghost now flitting around the two of them in anxiety finally spoke audibly.

“Frankie hey we should get out of here Ikora said-”

The guardian, Frankie(funny name but he liked it) lifted one hand and the ghost instantly silenced. Drifter smirked, not all guardians had such a leash on their ghost.

Frankie didn’t take a step back physically or from his offer it seemed. Instead he lifted both of his hands and started to move them quickly. Fingers moving and meeting in various shapes and flowing forms. Sign language huh? He knew a bit, but sign language was a fairly dead way of communication, especially since it changed and varied by time and region.

The ghost sighed shakily, floating over to an area about shoulder length between them so he could observe them both.

“Sorry for not saying anything at first, no offense but your room is super shady. Yes, Ikora warned me about you. Everyone warned me about you. If you’re such a problem I don’t know why they haven’t kicked you out.”

The ghost translated pretty quickly, but it seemed hesitant in it’s delivery. Must have got in touch with some language nut cryptarch to find what dialect this guardian was dredging up from the past.

“I’ve learned enough about your operations and I apologize but for now I have a lot to learn about what’s even going on with the world. But I am interested.”

Drifter chuckled and clapped his hands together.

“Got that right! Lot’s changed and Drifter has seen about 80% of it go down since the Traveler woke me up. Big world out there kid, but I like to see you got your priorities straight. And don’t mind me confirming, Frankie right? I dig the name, you name yourself?”

Back to twiddling a spare coin in between his fingers he shot a dark look at the ghost. 

“Or your ghost name you? Not that I mind, I’ve had plenty of names during my time”

The warlock finally gave him a loose smile and a shrug, and the Drifter caught slightly off guard. The Awoken were always a strange bunch, unnaturally beautiful, just something a little wild and alien about them. Couldn’t help but be a little drawn in when one gave you a smile like that.

“It was on a piece of paper I had in my pocket when I woke up. So that’s my name for a while, glad you like it. I hope it didn’t stand for Franklin or whatever.”

Drifter laughed again, looks like that guard from a few minutes ago was finally down. Interesting case this guardian. He’d have to keep an eye out.

“Honestly kid I hope so too. But remember a name is just a name, you need to change? Go for it, worked for me. Just let ol’ Drifter know so I don’t get left in the dust.”

Frankie’s smile only widened as he nodded and took a final gaze around the dim room before taking a step back.

“Now hold up! I uh-”

He stared at his hands a moment, the guardian gazed paused on him as he struggled for an old memory of his. God it had been so so long, the person he learned it from long dead but-

“Wait...wait.. I got it-”

He moved his hands slowly, more hestiance in his actions than he’d shown in front of someone else in years. First move the right hand flat on the other hand flat across the other towards the person then….

When he was done he met Frankie’s eyes with a question. He felt more anxiety trying to impress this random new guardian than he’d felt in some of his more dangerous bets.

“That was uh, ‘nice to meet you’, right? In sign language right?”

The guardian’s smile returned once again, this time in a wide delighted grin so infectious he instantly returned it. 

“Yes! See I still got it! This old man’s dusty memories still worth somethin’!”

Shaking one fist the air triumphantly he gave him an approving nod.

“Alright alright you can go now, don’t gotta hang around me more than you want to, just remember my offer still stands. I’ll be here waiting for ya.”

Frankie nodded again, before mirroring his own signs back to him, with a slow grace of someone who had been doing it for years. 

_ Nice to meet you too. _


End file.
